Over the course of the last three seasons, the New Orleans Saints have grown accustomed to being without wide receiver Chris Olave. Olave, the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been sidelined four times already during his short pro career due to concussions. Fortunately, the ailment Olave deals with presently is by no means as big of a problem as his repeated head injuries have been.
Olave turned his ankle during practice on Thursday August 7, and predictably, he wasn’t on the practice field on Friday. But it turns out, this was more out of precaution than it was an indication that Olave is dealing with an injury that should limit him or keep him on the shelf heading into the regular season.
Per New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill, the Saints consider Olave’s ankle injury to be “insignificant,” and he’s currently listed as day-to-day.
If there were any thoughts of whether Olave would be suiting up on Sunday for the Saints’ preseason opener, this should put that debate to rest. Given Olave’s unfortunate injury history, New Orleans would be wise to play it safe as long as possible with their number one receiver.
Chris Olave Ready to Put Concussion Issues Behind Him
It’s disappointing, yet understandable that the discourse surrounding Chris Olave has mostly been focused on the numerous concussions the former Ohio State Buckeye has suffered since making his pro debut. But this raises an important question, and one that may not have a definitive answer… are these concussions a sign of a pattern, or has Olave just been unlucky through the first three years of his professional career?
Olave himself provided an answer earlier this summer.
“They said I was OK back in December when they cleared me. It was just unlucky situations I was being put in,” Olave said on June 12. “God’s got me at the end of the day. I’m not worried about nothing. So, just got to go out there 100% and be ready.”
Thus far, the head injuries have been the only thing able to contain the 25-year-old receiver. He topped the 1,000 yard mark in each of his first two NFL seasons, and would’ve approached that mark in 2024 had not one, but two concussions limited him to only eight games.
Do the Saints Have Enough Depth Behind Olave?
The Saints’ ongoing quarterback competition has been the dominant storyline of the offseason in New Orleans. But once either Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough or Jake Haener end up being crowned QB1, the Saints will need to answer another important question… is there enough talent in this receivers room beyond Olave to give Kellen Moore and his coaching staff a clear answer on whether whoever wins the quarterback competition is actually the long-term answer?
Assuming Olave can’t give the Saints a full season of good health, the next best options in the passing game are emerging speedster Rashid Shaheed — who missed much of the 2024 season due to a torn meniscus — 31-year-old Brandin Cooks, and then unproven and unheralded youngsters Bub Means and Mason Tipton. Historically, Alvin Kamara has been a big factor in the passing game too, but the 30-year-old veteran has a lot of miles on his odometer.
In late May, Moore expressed optimism that this group could thrive during the 2025 season.
“I feel like our receiving corps has great energy, great juice,” Moore said, per John Hendrix of New Orleans Football. While there may not be a lot of size, this group will be one of the speediest in the NFL. But for things to go as well as Moore envisions, the Saints will need Chris Olave out on the field as much as possible.
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